Dedicated to all the Tigers -- living and dead -- who served so
gallantly in World War II

55th Armored Engineer Battalion

by Major Morris Weintraub

The 55th Armored Engineer
Battalion (AEB) was activated as a part of the 10th Armored Division some time in June
1942. The original commander was Colonel Daniel Spengler, a great trainer and
leader. On its activation, there was originally a cadre of battalion officers and
enlisted men with the rank of staff sergeant and above.

During July 1942, I was one of
the 20 shining new second lieutenants who arrive from Fort Belvoir, Virginia Officers
Training Center. The battalion consisted of a cadre of officers and a cadre of
enlisted men trained together for over two months in preparation for new recruits to be
sent to our battalion.

We received the recruits
directly from induction centers some time in October. I was assigned as personnel
officer to work with the Division personnel officers. We ought to note that the
recruits came from all over the country. By November, we started our basic training.

Purpose
of TMO:

General organization of
Battalion - vehicles and materials it carried to help the Division to keep moving.

Combat Armored Engineer Company
consisted of a Headquarters section responsible for feeding the whole company - platoons
and squads. The First Sergeant controlled the company; the mess sergeant took care
of supplies, such as clothing, blankets, ammunition, etc. The motor sergeant was
responsible to see that all vehicles kept moving, including a bulldozer.

Officers who ran the combat
company were a captain of the company and a first lieutenant who was the executive
officer.

The platoons consisted of a
lieutenant and a staff sergeant who controlled the platoon through three squads headed by
sergeants and corporals.

The vehicles for each squad
were a half-track and jeeps and trucks.

Example of
Typical Unit Operation and Combat Methodology:

The general breakdown of our
battalion was as follows:

At Division Headquarters the
Battalion Commander was considered the Division Engineer and worked closely with the
Division Commanding General and his staff.

The Division in combat was
broken up into three commands:

Combat Command "A"

Combat Command "B"

Combat Command "R"
(Reserve)

The Battalion Commander placed
each company under a combat command.

"A" Company was under
Combat Command "A"

"B" Company was under
Combat Command "B"

"C" Company was under
Combat Command "R"

In the Combat Command, the
captain of the Engineers worked close to the general and his staff and was known as the
Combat Command Engineer.

In a normal attack of the
Combat Command, they would set up two combat attack forces and a Reserve force. The
company then was broken up into assignments of a platoon with each combat attack force,
and the third platoon was assigned to the Reserve Force. The Headquarters group and
the company commander worked with the Command Command Headquarters.

A combat attack force was
usually commanded by an Infantry battalion commander or Tank battalion commander.
The platoon leader was the combat attack force engineer. In each combat attack
force, when they moved out to attack, the point party of the attack was usually set up
this way:

Engineer Squad

Infantry Squad

Medium Tank

Medium Tank

Enemy

In this operation, the infantry
and the engineer squad rode in half-tracks. It was important because the rumble of
tanks always brought artillery fire on it.

This can be described as
typical unit operations and combat methodology of the 55th AEB.

When we moved out of Normandy
after finally getting all our equipment, we came under the command of 3rd Army. I
remember meeting General Patton when he welcomed to his command the entire Division in an
open field.

I have two examples of unit
operations as related to the 10th Armored Division's Combat History.

First, when in our initial
operation, we stopped from entering into the Saar-Moselle Triangle - we were pulled back
to regroup. We were in rest for about two days, when on evening, we suddenly
received orders to load up and to literally follow the vehicle in front of us. We
noticed that we were going north, but we did not know where or why.

The next morning, we were
called together by the Battalion Commander and informed that the Germans were
attacking. Again, we were broken up into combat commands. Combat Command
"A" with Company "A" of the 55th AEB was sent north of Luxembourg to
prevent the Germans from breaking south through Luxembourg. Combat Command
"B" was sent straight north to help stop the Germans from breaking too far west.

We did not know it at the time,
but it was the very beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. "A" Company of
the 55th AEB was given responsibility of blowing all bridges coming south toward
Luxembourg. They did an excellent job in that not one German or German unit got into
Luxembourg.

Combat Command "B"
with "C" Company of the 55th AEB moved north - ran into no resistance and bedded
down for the night. Suddenly, all hell broke loose as the Germans surprised the unit
and almost decimated it. However, many of the men kept fighting and the unit ended
up in Bastogne.

When the Battle of the Bulge
was contained, the Division and the 55th AEB were sent to the town of Metz to reorganize
and receive replacements as the Division and the 55th AEB as whole was badly mauled.

The second incident I want to
tell you about came after we moved out of Metz when the Division was given the mission to
take the area called the Saar-Moselle Triangle. We were successful in taking the
area. However, we were now facing one of the largest cities in Germany - the city of
Trier. There was one problem - we had to cross the Saar River and the Siegfried line
faced us on the other side.

To make the river crossings,
there were two divisions - the 10th Armored Division and the 94th Infantry Division, and
they were given a sector. "B" Company of the 55th AEB had the
responsibility to deliver boats to both divisions and to supply the men to row the boats
up and back. "A" Company of the 55th AEB was given the responsibility to
supply the Engineers to go along with the 10th Armored Division infantry to carry
explosives and support the infantry in blowing up the fortifications. "C"
Company of the 55th AEB eventually handled motor boats and a ferry they had built.
The first truck loaded with dynamite was taken across and the Engineers were able to make
the Siegfried line inoperative as we entered into and captured the city of Trier.
Our division was the first unit to get into Germany through the Siegfried Line.

Unit Citations
and Performance Record:

Any citations given to the
Division reflected a great deal to the help of the 55th AEB. Many Silver Stars and
Bronze Star medals were won and there were many purple hearts.

You must recognize that in all
combat, the 55th AEB was always broken up among the various operations of the 10th Armored
Division and their combat commands. Therefore, if there were any special citations
given to these combat commands, these citations were also given to the 55th Armored
Engineer Company, platoon, or even battalion. For example, any citations given to
units in the Battle of the Bulge by Army or Corps must have been given to "C"
Company of the 55th AEB who was caught up in Bastogne and "A" Company who
supported Combat Command "A" in preventing the Germans from coming south into
Luxembourg or into France by blowing up so many bridges.

Outstanding
Unit Achievements:

The Outstanding Unit
Achievements were cited in paragraph #12 of my report. The job done by the 10th
Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge and the river crossing at the city of Ayl and
the breakthrough of the Siegfried Line and the capture at the time of one of the largest
cities in Germany, "Trier," were two incidents which units of the 55th AEB were
major factors in insuring the success of the 10th Armored Division combat missions.

Memorable
Individual Performances and Decorations:

As you can see from the many
operations in combat that units of the 55th AEB were in, many awards and decorations were
given to a great many officers and enlisted men in the 55th AEB. Surely, there must
be some official records of who the recipients were and what the awards were for. I,
myself, humbly state that I was honored and privileged to receive the Bronze Star, Purple
Heart, and Silver Star. I am especially proud of the Silver Star which was awarded
to me as S-3 of the 55th AEB for supervising and personally delivering the first truck
load of TNT across the Saar River at the city of Ayl under heavy enemy artillery.
This TNT was used to blow up the fortifications so the the Division was able to capture
the city of Trier.

As to a memorable posthumous
deed of bravery, I would like to bring attention to Lieutenant Colonel J. Wadsworth Clapp
who, as Battalion Commander of the 55th AEB, realizing the difficulty of the river
crossing at the city of Ayl, went there personally to insure its success. While
there, Lieutenant Colonel Clap was killed. Needless to say, this was a great loss
to the Battalion.

Transcribed from "The Tigers, History of the
10th Armored Division, Turner Publishing, 1988